"E. C. Tubb - Dumarest 01 - The Winds of Gath" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tubb E. C)

He felt no pride as the tourist threw money into the bowl. The
man had been generous but pride was a sin. And a beggar had
no cause to be proud.

Piers Quentin, Resident Factor of Gath, moodily rubbed his
pattern-shaved face and stared at the bloodshot orb of the sun.
Slowly it was sinking toward the leaden waves of the ocean.
Irritably he wished that it would hurry up.

It was always the same before a storm, this feeling he had of
mounting tension and growing irritations. Bad traits for a man
who had to soothe the rich and powerful. Worse when he had to
tread the narrow path between ensuring their comfort and safety
and risking their displeasure. Yet each time the storm came due
and the ships began to arrive he felt the same: as if each storm
was a crisis which had to be met and surmountedтАж as if one day
the crisis would prove too great. He didn't like to think of what
could happen then.

"You are troubled, brother." Brother Ely, old and shrewd in
the ways of men, looked at the resident's rigid back from where
he sat at ease in a padded chair. A cool drink stood by his hand,
ice tinkling in the limpid depths. The resident, while not
religious, was not ungenerous. "Is it the storm?"

"It's always the storm." Piers turned from the window and
began to pace the floor. "Out there"тАФhe gestured toward
HightownтАФ"is probably the greatest assembly of wealth and
power to be found in the uninhabited worlds. Traditional
enemies, entrepreneurs, place-seekers and time-servers,
opportunists and the rest, all crammed cheek to jowl, all
waitingтАФall spoiling for trouble."

"Surely you exaggerate?" Ely picked up his drink and sipped
the contents. His mouth constricted to the tart flavor of lime.
"Are things so bad?"

"Worse." Piers halted beside the dispenser and poured himself
a drink. It was almost pure alcohol. He swallowed it at a single
gulp. "This storm is something special, Brother. Already the solar
flare has closed the space lines. Above the atmosphere is a hell of
naked radiation which would penetrate the strongest shield
carried by a commercial vessel. That is why the ships arrived
early. That is why the tension is so high."

"I hadn't noticed," said Ely. "But then, I lack your experience."

"You'll sense it soon enough," promised the resident, "The air
is full of stray ions, heavy with undischarged electrical potential.